Campus Public Safety Resources

Incident Command Post during a 2011 structure fire on campus

The UCSC campus is the size and population of a small city and the campus provides public safety services much like a city does. Unlike some universities, UCSC staffs its own Police Department and contracts with the City of Santa Cruz to staff a fire station on campus and is able to handle most emergency situations with these campus resources. The campus is also able to call on state and local mutual aid for major incidents outside the capabilities of on-campus resources.

Reporting an Emergency

To report an emergency on campus, dial 9-1-1 from any campus phone or cell phone. You can also use a blue light emergency phone which is the same as calling 9-1-1. The campus maintains a Public Safety Dispatch Center which answers all 9-1-1 calls on campus. The UCSC Police Department is dispatched directly by campus dispatch while the UCSC Fire Department is dispatched by Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 due to fact that many fire-related calls require the dispatch of an ambulance or additional mutual aid resources.

Please do not call the business/office phone numbers for the Police Department, Fire Department or any other campus unit to report an emergency situation. While it may seem faster to talk to the department directly, these numbers are not staffed 24/7 and calling these numbers delays the emergency response. Always dial 9-1-1 if you have an emergency situation or think an emergency situation may be occuring. When in doubt, dial 9-1-1.

UCSC Police Department

Police officers of the UC Santa Cruz Police Department are duly sworn peace officers under section 830.2(b) of the California Penal Code. The officers of the department are armed and possess the same authority under the law as municipal police officers. UCSC Police Officers patrol the campus 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They enforce the law, arrest violators, investigate and suppress crime, investigate traffic and bicycle accidents, and provide a full range of services to the community. The UC Santa Cruz Police Department has police officers responsible for specialized assignments including crime prevention, investigation, bicycle patrol and motorcycle patrol.

Santa Cruz Fire Department

As of July 1, 2014, the Santa Cruz Fire Department staffs the campus fire station and provides fire and EMS response to the campus under a contract for service between UC Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz.

Mutual Aid

The campus receives mutual aid from various surrounding public safety agencies and also provides mutual aid to these agencies through the California Master Mutual Aid Agreement. For police incidents, the Santa Cruz Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office are the two primary mutual aid partners. For fire and medical incidents, the Santa Cruz Fire Department is the primary mutual aid partner and ambulance service for the campus is provided by AMR as part of their contract with Santa Cruz County Emergency Medical Services. Other state and local police and fire agencies may also respond to campus as needed based on the nature of the incident.